The Nordic Tug 39 Flybridge has a Side-Power dock control panel that gives the pilot command over the bow and stern thrusters. A boat-shaped knob serves as the system’s “joystick.”

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Today’s trawlers also make use of advances in diesel propulsion — engines that run cleaner, quieter and more efficiently. Ranger Tugs’ R-31, with a single Volvo Penta D4 common-rail fuel-injected diesel, makes 7.3 knots while burning about 1.9 gph to go 3.8 nmpg.

Outboards are also being put to work on some “pocket” trawlers, such as the 33 Eco-Trawler, an efficient and easy-to-maintain boat that gets about 4.1 nmpg at 7.4 knots with a single 115-hp Mercury (www.trawlersmidwest.com).

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Trawlers use electrical power more efficiently, too. “We are now 100 percent LED — inside and out, including running lights,” says Larry Polster, vice president of Kadey-Krogen Yachts.

During the past few years Kadey-Krogen has concentrated on making its interiors more user-friendly so owners can move about the boat easily and safely, Polster says. “The nuances include ‘house-size’ steps and galley appliances, more handrails, easier-to-reach storage areas and drawers,” he says.

The company has sharpened its focus on ergonomics so much that the 44 and 48 includes “AE” (Advanced Ergonomics) in the nomenclature.

Trawlers from North Pacific Yachts are designed with lighter fabrics and larger windows to brighten the interior spaces, says company president Trevor Brice. “We’ve made huge upgrades to our interiors, with more light inside,” he says. “We’re not going ‘Euro’ but are lightening things up.”

For instance, the North Pacific 49’s forward stateroom has a white cabin overhead and long counters sandwiching the berth. “But there’s also a good amount of wood to balance modern and traditional,” Brice says. Much of the woodwork on the North Pacific trawlers has no joints; the wood is steam-bent into shapes, he says.

North Pacific’s hull designs have changed slightly, too. “We are seeing a movement to a more traditional plumb bow, which gives you more interior room forward,” Brice says.

Here’s a look at a half-dozen trawlers — all brands that are well-known to American boaters.

Ranger R-31

A trailerable single-diesel semidisplacement pocket tug with a flybridge and accommodations that include a forward and a midships stateroom.